Kepkay Might Find Olympics on His Summer Schedule
Coach Jim Boylen decided long ago that the only way he will allow any of his players to leave town and miss summertime conditioning next year is if they're playing for their national teams.
And it looks like that will happen with at least one guy -- Tyler Kepkay.
Boylen said he already has spoken with coach Leo Rautins of the Canadian national team, who wants Kepkay at the tryout for the team that hopes to play at the 2008 Beijing Games in China. The Canadians have not yet qualified for the Olympics, but will if they finish among the top three at the 12-team FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament from July 14-20 in Greece.
How cool might that be for Kepkay, potentially backing up a guy by the name of Steve Nash?
The Utes have four other international players on their roster, but only Australians Luke Nevill and Stephen Weigh have even a remote chance at playing at the Olympics. It seems unlikely, since neither has played for the Australian national team, but at least the Australians have qualified for the 12-team field at the Beijing Games.
The same cannot be said for France and Serbia, two nations that will not qualify. That means forward Kim Tillie and guard Luka Drca won't be playing in Beijing, even if they are good enough to earn a spot on their national team.
And it looks like that will happen with at least one guy -- Tyler Kepkay.
Boylen said he already has spoken with coach Leo Rautins of the Canadian national team, who wants Kepkay at the tryout for the team that hopes to play at the 2008 Beijing Games in China. The Canadians have not yet qualified for the Olympics, but will if they finish among the top three at the 12-team FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament from July 14-20 in Greece.
How cool might that be for Kepkay, potentially backing up a guy by the name of Steve Nash?
The Utes have four other international players on their roster, but only Australians Luke Nevill and Stephen Weigh have even a remote chance at playing at the Olympics. It seems unlikely, since neither has played for the Australian national team, but at least the Australians have qualified for the 12-team field at the Beijing Games.
The same cannot be said for France and Serbia, two nations that will not qualify. That means forward Kim Tillie and guard Luka Drca won't be playing in Beijing, even if they are good enough to earn a spot on their national team.
posted by www.sltrib.com @ 9:02 AM |
2 Comments:
Didn't Bogut play in the olympics the summer before the Utes' Sweet-16 Run? If I remember correctly, it was during that summer when people across the country started talking about Bogut and the Utes.
The Olympic games could do great things for Utah's national reputation, and can be valuable experience to the individual players.
Hi Cincyute ...
Thanks for the comment, but no, Andrew has not played in the Olympics (though I'd think he's a safe bet for 2008). He did play in the 2003 Junior Worlds (he was MVP, I think) and the 2006 Worlds, however, which no doubt helped his profile.
Thanks!
Mike
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